Orban Calls For Commission To Release Funds To Assist w/Ukraine Crisis

Hungarian outlet 444.hu reporting that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has submitted a letter to the European Commission requesting 'immediate and effective access to EU funds' in order to assist with humanitarian aid for Ukraine, border protection, and an enhancement of the Hungarian army.

• As of 17 March, an estimated 283k+ Ukrainian refugees have travelled to Hungary.
• Previously, Orban had not drawn down any of the loan from the COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Facility, made up of both grants and loans. The Commission had demanded that some of the funding be used to curb corruption, modernise public procurement, and other country-specific recommendations made when the EU set up the facility.
• The original breakdown saw Hungary assigned around EUR15bn from the RRF, with 43% in the form of a non-repayable grant and 57% as a loan delivered on favourable terms. Orban has also called for the amount of funding avaliable to Hungary not to be cut. Original sums calculated on member states' GDP growth, and given Hungary's recovery from the pandemic Budapest's share was due to be reduced by 16%. Orban has called such a situation 'unacceptable'.
• Minister of State for EU Development Szabolcs Ágostházy stated that he thought it possible the entire amount could be drawn down if used to reduce Hungarian reliance on Russian energy.